PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, May 25 (Reuters) - U.N. police in Kosovo fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of ethnic Albanians who stoned a United Nations convoy escorting Serb defence lawyers in the west of the province on Thursday.

Three U.N. police officers and one translator were wounded when villagers blocked a road and lobbed stones at vehicles escorting two Serb members of a defence team accredited to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, a U.N. statement said.

"Police then had to clear the crowd, unfortunately resulting in injuries to a number of citizens who received medical treatment from an ambulance at the scene," it said.

The stoning of Serb convoys in Kosovo is not uncommon.

The province, legally part of Serbia, has been run by the U.N. since 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.

An estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians died and another 800,000 fled into neighbouring Macedonia and Albania.

U.N. prosecutors in The Hague say Serb police killed 100 men in the village of Mala Krusa two days into the 78-day NATO bombing campaign.

The case is included in the indictment against former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic, whose trial begins in July.

The U.N. governor in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, said he was "outraged and disappointed" by the incident.

"It is important for the people of Kosovo to understand that their quest for justice can only be achieved through the course of justice, not by extra-judicial means," he said.

Signs of reconciliation in Kosovo are rare. Around half the Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks after the war and the 100,000 who stayed live on the margins of society, targeted by sporadic violence.

After seven years of U.N.-imposed limbo, the major powers are pushing for a solution to Kosovo's final status in direct Serb-Albanian talks that began in February in Vienna.

The 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority is pushing for independence, but is under pressure to improve the security and rights of Serbs.

The U.N. mission says ethnically motivated crime in 2006 is down compared with previous years.

The mob had thought they were Serb villagers returning to see their homes. If that was the case the UN police wouldn't have fired back. However, these are lawyers working for the ICTY court, which makes them important, even though it's a kangaroo court against Serbs. It want a pretext of fair trial.

Kosovo is not their country or their land. Kosovo has belonged to Serbia since the early middle ages. It was GIVEN to the Kosovar Albanians by Slick KKKlinton and the UN, and it needs to be given back to its rightful owners.

You will care whose land Kosovo was when the UN steps in demanding that we hand Texas and California over to Vincente Fox on the same stupid premise of ethnicity being everything and things like rightful ownership and sovereignty not meaning anything any more.

The people were stoning what they thought were other people - NOT the UN. The stoners were used to the UN allowing them to attack the other group - not knowing it was more important people than the usual civilians.

Instead of stepping back, the UN didn't. The UN and police got hurt by the mob which wouldn't stop and so they got tear gassed.

Would you be happy if you or your children or your elderly parents were regularly stoned by people - even if they were women and children throwing those rocks?

What if your children were regularly stoned on their bus rides by a particular ethnic mob? Would you mind then if police fired tear gas back at the stone throwing mob?

The deaths of seven Serbs in a bomb attack on a bus on Saturday inside the Kosovo border with Serbia marks the worst single escalation of violence against a minority since the end of the NATO bombing in 1999. The Serbs were returning to their villages to visit graves on the Orthodox Day of the Dead, when the departed are commemorated. The deaths, and more than forty injuries, were caused by a large explosive device left in a culvert under the road near the border town of Podujevo. The explosion was triggered by wire. KFOR troops were accompanying the convoy of buses, which had left from Ni, and a separate KFOR unit had been searching the road for bombs and booby traps. They were distracted by a group of men they saw on a hill above the convoy route, and went to arrest them. It was as the KFOR troops were returning to restart the security checks that the convoy passed. The lead KFOR vehicles were allowed to pass before the device was detonated under a bus containing men, women and children.

There is more about this "OPERATION" in the link. It was a well planned operation by Albanian extremist, that included several other attacks several days later against Serb busses. The PERP was caught by a combination of German and British KFOR efforts, long story short, and turned over to the Americans at Camp Bondsteel. The Perp, Florin Ejupe wasn't in Bondsteel very long. He "escaped" from Bondsteel very quickly. Word is he was trained by the CIA and his escape was not by accident. We have supported the Albanian extremist since the beginning. Actually it goes beyond Klintoon. It goes back to 1948, in our effort to break down Yugoslavia. Interesting CIA operation that has spanned decades.

They are not brave. They do this to provoke, as they know they won't be shot at or absolutely nothing done to them. The children who stone are paid or prompted to throw the stones as the busses return from Serbia or heading to Serbia......it's well planned and orchestrated.

Once Kosovo becomes independent they will target Macedonia and Southern Presevo. We even had MPRI provide advisors for the NLA during their terrorist activities in 2000-2001 time frame.....

It's a mess and the innocent Albanians, (who want a normal life), Serbs and other minorities plus internationals will become targets. The "innocent Albanians" do support the independence because of the dream but they are aware that the Mafia owns and controls Kosovo working with specific UN personnel to strengthen the organized crime. All others turn a blind eye and move on after their mission is over......this is a very short comment about the issue.....and our tax dollars are supporting it.....

18
posted on 05/27/2006 12:49:03 AM PDT
by tgambill
(I would like to comment.....)

They're like cancer. First they terrorized Kosovo, then SE Serbia and Macedonia, now watch for a showdown in Montenegro and, possibly, Greece (although Greece is relatively secure being within the EU & NATO).

Kosovo to be independent in months: ex-NATO general Thu May 25, 12:25 PM ET

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AFP) - The former US general who commanded NATO's 1999 air war against Serbia predicted its southern province of Kosovo would become independent within months.

Wesley Clark told Kosovo Albanian leaders in Pristina he had confidence in their "strong, positive and visionary proposals" to find a solution for Kosovo, which has been run by the United Nations and NATO since 1999.

"I am confident that this issue will be solved very soon, and probably in few months, Kosovo will become independent and will respect the rights of all citizens," said Clark.

"I believe that Kosovo will be welcomed into the family of the nations and that there will be many opportunities for the citizens of this country to prosper, raise big families and make their dreams come true."

Clark, who is on a three-day visit to the disputed province, met Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Agim Ceku, who said Clark was a great friend of Kosovo, who stood by it in its most difficult times.

"He is and will always be honored by the people of Kosovo," he said.

Clark commanded the 1999 NATO air strikes that drove Serbian forces loyal to former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo because of their brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

yep...got this one and have commented on it in several messages..... Ceku?? pardoned?? like Pardoning Charles Manson so he could become Major or do I mean Mayor of California....:) Bad state of affairs and you have to admit that the pockets are very very Deep...to get INTERPOL to pardon a mass murderer.....and then he becomes a president.....The moderate Albanians have no idea of the ride that they are in for when the dust settles. Increase of drugs in the towns, Increase of child prostitutes and kidnappings for slavery, contraband shipments, Cleasning of the remaining minorities.....protection and donation money from businesses for the cause (Mafia and Rebel activity in Presevo and Macedonia), Islamic Fundalmentalist base of operations and training locations which are already established since 2003......timeframe...but mainly I'm concerned about the child abduction and prostitution that will be protected and increased.....Internationals are already involved.

23
posted on 05/28/2006 6:25:10 AM PDT
by tgambill
(I would like to comment.....)

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